NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 4 — A simmering power struggle within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has taken a sharper turn, with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna accusing National Assembly Minotiry Leader Junet Mohamed of diverting campaign funds meant to pay election agents during the 2022 General Election.
The claims inject a new and potentially explosive dimension into ODM’s widening internal rift, shifting the debate from ideological differences over the broad-based government to accountability for Raila Odinga’s narrow loss to President William Ruto.
Speaking in Murang’a County, Sifuna said that the failure to pay ODM agents on election day fatally undermined the party’s presidential campaign, accusing Junet, of mismanaging funds provided by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“The money that ODM used in 2022 largely came from Uhuru Kenyatta,” Sifuna said.
“You spent Uhuru’s money instead of paying agents, allowing our opponents to defeat us.”
Reopening ODM’s most sensitive wound
Payment of election agents has long been viewed as critical in Kenya’s fiercely contested polls, where agents play a central role in protecting votes during counting and tallying.
Sifuna’s remarks revive long-standing internal grievances that ODM failed to adequately deploy and compensate agents in key battlegrounds.
For the first time, however, the accusations have been made publicly and directly, raising pressure for an internal audit of the party’s 2022 campaign finances.
“As we begin the audit of the 2022 elections, it is a good thing that this debate has been revived,” Sifuna said.
Power struggle after Raila
The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of growing uncertainty within ODM following the death of party leader Raila Odinga, whose authority had historically kept internal rivalries in check.
Sifuna, who has opposed ODM’s cooperation with President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration, is now facing mounting calls for his removal as Secretary General, calls he has firmly rejected.
“No one has the power to kick me out of ODM,” he said, dismissing what he described as intimidation by rival factions.
A party split over the future
The campaign funds row mirrors deeper divisions over ODM’s political direction ahead of the 2027 General Election.
While figures such as Siaya Governor James Orengo have warned against aligning with President Ruto, arguing that ODM risks losing its identity, others, including Junet, ODM Party Leader Oburu Odinga, have signalled openness to coalition politics if it leads to government power.
A TIFA Research survey released on December 23 found ODM remains Kenya’s most popular party at 20 per cent, but is struggling with internal cohesion and resistance among supporters to backing President Ruto in 2027.
